Since Sept 15… black attack on Kobanî, balance changed-2

KOBANÎ– IS mercenaries launched a violent attack on the city of Kobani in mid-September 2014, and it was not long enough to enter the city of Kobani and occupy an area estimated to reach more than half, but the will was stronger than the military force, so the resistance of Kobani won giving this victory a present for the whole world by virtue of the international resistance inside its walls.

In our second dossier, we will review the events of the military campaign on Kobani on September 15, 2014, in addition to the stages of the campaign; its failure and the victory of the resistance of the People Protection Units and Women Protection Units and the Free Army factions in Kobani in addition to the international movement during the resistance.

Barbaric attack by IS mercenaries

The drums of war were rung on September 15, 2014, when IS mercenaries began rallying troops on the outskirts of Kobani canton after controlling Mosul in addition to many of the military sectors of the Syrian army, notably the 93rd Brigade in Ain Issa, where IS seized tons of weapons and dozens of armored vehicles and used in his attack on the canton

The plan seemed to be well-plot while Daesh would not save time and took to attacks on two fronts, from east and west, and quickly gained control over a number of villages because of the great strength it had when had been compared to those of the People Protection Units.

It should be noted that the forces defending Kobanî did not have a single tank or even a troop carrier vehicle, unlike the forces IS used on each front more than two tanks, not to mention the use of 130 cannons that had the ability to bomb the center of the city of Kobanî from 30 km

The IS mercenaries began the attack and penetrated deep into the natural border of the canton of Kobanî which was protected by the People Protection Units.

Resistance in the countryside

Military and mobilization superiority over the People Protection Units and Women Protection Units during the start of the military campaign that YPG, and YPJ resisted with all their might. On the contrary, the units have shown indescribable resistance until dozens of their fighters were martyrs, and many of them have carried out commando operations such as Rêvana, Arîn Mîrkan, Baran Serhad, Êrîş and Zozan “trying to deter enemy forces and prevent them from advancing.

But the resistance which was with individual weapons and a few machine guns, was not enough to stop creeping IS mercenaries towards Kobani canton armed with sophisticated gear and equipment.

The resistance in the countryside had a different impact than the one followed in the streets of the city. The People Protection Units and Women Protection Units in front of IS mercenaries were the first ever since the establishment of the units, YPG and YPJ faced now a big challenge, die, no way to retreat.

By that doctrine, the units’ fighters were able to defend their points, even if tanks IS mercenaries pass over their bodies.

Displacement of civilians

The Kobani civilians were an essential part of the epic resistance that the YPG, and YPJ showed in the face of IS mercenaries. Civilians greatly contributed to filling the gap in the trenches of resistance along the resistance lines.

But with the intensification of the attacks, civilians had only to move towards the center of the city, where the siege was intensified with the passage of days and very quickly, in order to avoid possible massacres that could be carried out against them similar to those that took place in Şengal and claimed the lives of more than 5 thousand Yazidis.

Within 10 days, Kobani witnessed the displacement of more than 300,000 civilians towards the northern border of the canton along with North Kurdistan (Bakur).

Most of the civilians crossed the border with North Kurdistan and targeted the area of Siruj, while a few hundred remained in their land. They remained in the village of Tal- Shaeer, about 5 kilometers west of the city center, refusing to escape until the liberation of the city.

IS mercenaries on the outskirts of the city of Kobanî

On the morning of Sunday, October 5, 2014, IS mercenaries controlled “Mashta Nour” hill overlooking the city from the southeast after 20 days of fighting in the countryside and began to bombard violently.

Street warfare started

The battles that began in the city of Kobani evolved in three stages. The first phase was a defensive line to limit the advance of IS mercenaries, and this was achieved on October 8, three days after the fighting moved into the streets of the city.

On that day, a number of YPG fighters (some of whom martyred and some got wounded) carried out commando operations in al-Huriya Square, targeting all the sites where IS mercenaries opened fire from and they were able to control the initiative and limit the progress of IS mercenaries.

The atmosphere at that time was that the city could fall at any moment and everyone was circulating it according to its interests. Everyone was wondering whether Kobanî had fallen or not? And when will it fall? No?

In the battles of Freedom Square, the progress of IS mercenaries has been reduced, and the People Protection Units began to fortify their defense lines and trained fighters in street warfare. The days passed, as attacks on the defense lines continued on a daily basis, without any progress being made by IS mercenaries, and the People Protection Units every now and then liberated some houses and streets. The situation lasted for 71 days.

Meantime, IS gangs launched several fierce and deliberate attacks on the defensive lines, especially from the east and near the border gate, but they also failed.

Then began the second stage, where the People Protection Units began to follow the tactics of hit-and-run, ambushes were set, mines were planted, sniper were prepared, and blitzes were conducted and many other tactics. At the time, the leaders of the People Protection Units confirmed that the strikes inflicted to IS mercenaries were by virtue of the operations carried out by their forces outside the city, thus enabling the People Protection Units to protect their lines in addition to defeat IS mercenaries’ attacks.

The third stage began on 18 December 2014, the 94th day of the resistance. That day began the campaign to liberate the city of Kobanî under the name of the campaign of revenge for the martyrs of Kobanî, the campaign lasted 40 days until Kobanî liberation war balances in Kobani were head over heels.

Regional and global interaction with Kobani

The great resistance shown by the People Protection Units and Women Protection Units in the defense of the city of Kobani caught the world’s attention towards the city of Kobani where the city soon began to occupy the headlines of most of the media and the talk of the most prominent international leaders.

Immediately after the arrival of IS mercenaries to Kobanî,

The Kurds in North Kurdistan (Bakur) were the first to stand up in supporting the resistance that the People Protection Units were demonstrating in the city of Kobani, where the Kurdish people in most Kurdish cities in northern Kurdistan rose in support of Kobanî.

Hundreds of Kurds went to the border at the city of Pirsûs (Siruj), adjacent to the city of Kobanî, and some of them crossed the border to defend the city.

The popular uprising of the people of North Kurdistan took place in October 6, 7 and 8, in which about 40 civilians martyred by the Turkish authorities in an attempt to obliterate the voices calling for the uprising to support Kobani.

International Day of Solidarity with Kobanî

A month and a half after the start of the resistance in Kobanî, on November 1, the World Day of Solidarity with Kobani was proclaimed in the world at the invitation of the world’s leading intellectuals and jurists, with thousands in more than 90 cities of 30 countries in the world. To adopt the Kobanî resistance, under the motto “international alert for the Kobanî and humanity against the IS mercenaries”.

Many Nobel Peace Prize laureates, including philosophers, called for the November 1 declaration as an international day for Kobanî support.

Among them was the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Noam Chomsky, and the American linguist Luisa Morgantini, former members of the European Parliament and members of the House of Lords, are among the proponents of these activities.

Kobanî liberation

After the start of the military campaign on Kobanî on September 15, 2014, and the passage of battles to the city 20 days after the start of the campaign, after 94 days of fighting IS mercenaries managed to control 70 percent of the total area of the city of Kobanî.

But with the intervention of the international US-led coalition to fight IS and the Peshmerga forces providing support for the People Protection Units and Women Protection Units in the battles to defend the city, the forces in the Kobanî defeated IS mercenaries and strategic points were taken every day.

In the battles of Kobanî, the YPG and YPJ embodied heroic epics when they were liberated Kobanî after 134 days of continuous fighting. On January 26, 2015, Kobani was declared fully liberated from the IS mercenaries. And their black flags with replaced with green, red and yellow ones.

Kobani resistance was an international one and so was victory

The resistance of the people of Kobani was not only restricted to Kurds, but also internationals of various nations and components participated. The Arab fought alongside the Kurdish, the Kurdish fought alongside the Persian and the Persian fought alongside the American, British, German and even Israeli and Turkish.

Many international fighters, most of them Turkish, martyred in Kobanî which perfectly indicates that the resistance of Kobani was a universal, international resistance, and its victory meant a victory for all nations.